(Photo courtesy of Julie Desmond)
I can tell a thousand stories about Ben & Jerry’s. Yes, I’ve toured the ice cream factory in Vermont. What ice cream addict hasn’t? In college, I think that I occasionally dated both Ben & Jerry every Thursday night while watching Beverly Hills 90210 with the girls. As I recall, back then we decided that one pint was a single serving. Needless to say, me and Ben & Jerry’s go back. Way back.
(Picture Courtesy of Ben & Jerry Website)
So let’s slip back to Portland, Maine circa 1989…
It was senior year, when everything you do seems to be that much more magnified because its all about to change. I was so lucky. I had the most amazing group of friends. Three of us were named Julie. There was Danielle and Kate. There was Holly, and of course Mike.
We’d all go to the beach, to movies, to the mall. We’d meet for bagels or pancakes in the morning, and giggle as we were late for school. We’d occasionally sit around and drink warm cans of Busch beer, then stick the beer boxes on our heads and pretend to be beer monsters for fun (How lame is that?). Yet, it’s tackling the Vermonster that is one of my favorite memories with them.
Are you familiar with the Vermonster? It has twenty scoops of ice cream, four scoops of hot fudge, three chocolate chip cookies, ten scoops of walnuts, two scoops of four toppings of your choice, and whipped cream. It has a whopping 14,000 calories. That’s right let me say this again, it has 14,000 calories. There were seven of us. That’s 2,000 calories each, but we didn’t care.
We shoved huge chunks of ice cream into our mouths, moving from Chunky Monkey, to Best Vanilla, to Oreo Mint, to Cherry Garcia. The whipped cream was not that poofy stuff from the jar, it was the heavy homemade variety that mixed perfectly with the gooey hot fudge.
Did we finish it? No, we didn’t even come close. We were Vermonstered by the Vermonster. It won. I remember all of us staring into the soupy mess, wishing we had room for more. Afterwards, we all walked through the Old Port, high on sugar and friendship. The night was perfect.
Ice cream pulls people together. Eating a Vermonster is something that you should do with a group of friends. You should do it in high school while your metabolism can handle the imminent sugar shock and your veins are void of cholesterol.
Many people from this same group got to together for a Forties Feast. Kate and I tackled a tasting menu called, “The Land of Luxury,” while the other girls tackled “Feast and Forage.” Some things don’t change.
So, I’m lifting a scoop for you guys from 1989 and Ben & Jerry’s.
Good friends and Good Times!
Check out all of the other blogs on with the theme Life Is Better With a Point Vermont’s Finest:
Publikworks-An Above Average Crackpot
Well, at least you guys had fun trying to conquer the Vermonster. Love that photo!
I’m hoping that the other players in the photo don’t come to get me!
A Vermonster. Do they still make that? Maybe everyone who participated today should meet up next July at Ben & Jerry’s and give it a go. Bring your own spoon.
I think they do still make them. Maybe we should start brainstorming flavors and toppings. Let’s start with…
Great idea, Blogdramedy! You book the flights and I’ll bring the spoons!
Oh my gosh!!! I am going to have to create my own Vermonster. My boys would think they died and went to heaven!! Julie, I am envious of your youth. (smile) I am so happy you milked your part of town for all it was worth – warm Busch beer and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream. Hahahahaha!
This rocked!! You are an excellent storyteller, my friend. Thanks for playing! (And the picture is awesomesauce!)
I wouldn’t recommend giving a Vermonster to you children unless you are thinking of handing them over to a babysitter!
haha…Saturday, all in the name of research, we served up a scoop of Phish food and a scoop of Key Lime Pie and another of Cherry Garcia–does that qualify as Vermonster?
What we’ll do for research!
Only 3 scoops? Amateur night, Georgette. Amateur.
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There’s a show called Man Vs. Food on the Travel Channel where the host tries to eat the craziest concoctions from restaurants around the country. Too bad they didn’t have that show back when you tackled the Vermonster.
Kudos on finding that awesome pic.
Well, Andrew Zimmerman does follow me on Twitter. Maybe he’d like to do a weird food tour of Maine. Heck, maybe he knows the Man Vs. Food guy. I could be his tour guide.
What a great picture! What I wouldn’t give to have that calorie-deflecting metabolism again. And the great hair, although your bangs aren’t nearly as high as they should be.
Peg, you didn’t see my prom picture. That I’ll never post, ever.
I am so very impressed. The Vermonster sounds awesome, all 14,000 calories. Great post.
Shucks, anyone can eat a Vermonster. Just one spoonful after another!
I love the photo!!! This was such fun.
I’m not sure my friends love that I posted it. I haven’t heard from one of them today. Good or bad? Not sure.
WANT
To answer the question raised earlier, yes, B&J’s still serves the Vermonster along with its smaller sibling, the Mini Vermonster – which is sort of like a giant hot fudge-brownie sundae-banana split type of thing. Going to college in VT and then living there the next 11 years, I loved the fact that they provided their employees with 2 free pints per week! I had several friends and family members who kept me flush with Phish Food and Chubby Hubby…the latter of which, ironically, I nearly turned into due to their generosity.
Good to know that it’s going strong. I have a real addiction to Chubby Hubby. I can’t even have it in the house or else I’ll eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.